The Age of Great Stories
“I love a fantasy where characters have such a strong sense of purpose it rubs off on you just from watching them.
Because that is what it is supposed to do.
“I’ve got the Bartlet administration to dream about.
And it’s not only about rubbing off. It is all about examples.
“There are few thrills as gratifying as a show with a great memory — a show that can really handle fan love and scrutiny.
Wow – I did not even know that existed.
“It was truth telling.
When story telling is true, meaning: “Bull’s eye!”
“As for my favorites, it’s a tie between the pilot, “The Constant” [from Season 4] and the Season 3 finale — right now, the Season 3 finale [which introduced the flash-forward concept, and revealed that the survivors make it off the island] is in the pole position. That was one of the most exciting things we ever did, and it was at a time when the show was starting to get written off as having its best days behind it.
Truly amazing: to get your momentum back in an instant.
“I want a story, this is what happens, this is what it means, these are the repercussions, this is the scene of aftermath, this is the feeling it’s about for these people.
Cool. That is a good story, is it not?
“Skyler was pilloried as the nagging wife — there was this runaway train of Skyler hatred. It was kind of freaking Vince out and it was freaking me out, too. I wrote about it [in The Times] and went through that whole thing. [..] I don’t know. Obviously there’s a deep sexism there, and dare I say misogyny with it. Because if Skyler had been a male character, it would have been perceived differently.
Great stuff!
“If you still need convincing, let me direct you to the Season 4 episode “I Remember You,” which begins to reveal the back story of the series’ original mad villain, the Ice King. Once a mild-mannered human named Simon, he saved a young girl (now Marceline, the goth-punk vampire) by embracing a magic that took his sanity and memory. As Marceline pieces together the story and he grasps at the fragments of his past — a story with familiar echoes to anyone who’s seen a loved one fall to dementia — the episode’s 11 minutes build to an emotional climax, a villainous character reframed and given depth on the spot.
Incredible. I learn.
“We were improvising and I started saying, “Ugh, I’m not going to be able to come up with anything funny right now.” And [the director] Hiro [Murai] said, “Don’t be funny, just be truthful” — which is a general rule for improvising, but I think it was just another reminder: The show doesn’t have to land jokes, it just has to land truth.
To land U there.
.
